Abolition Institute Blog

The two slave-owners – Sidi Mohamed Ould Hanana and Khalihina Ould Heymad – were also ordered to pay compensation to the two female slaves who had brought the case with the support of SOS Esclaves and Anti-Slavery International (ASI). The presiding judge of the Nema special court, which was set up in December, also imposed a fine of 100,000 ouguiya (about $285) and ordered 1m ouguiya in restitution to each of the women.

The women – Fatimetou Mint Hamdi and Fatimata Mint Zaydih, aged between 35 and 40 – had lived with the Ould Daoud family since birth. They escaped with their children with the help of SOS Esclaves last year. The NGO has been looking after them since.

​Speaking after the trial, Zaydih said: “I never received any money or anything for the work I did. I was only ever allowed to eat the leftovers from the masters’ meals. My 10-year-old son became the slave of one of the masters, and was under his control all the time. I never knew what my boy was eating or if he was eating at all.”